As I advocate for a U.S. policy towards the region based on justice and
human rights, I’ve had easier years during the Bush Administration. For
an administration that promised hope and change, both are in short
supply.
The international community initially celebrated an agreement
negotiated in Honduras, on October 28th, between coup regime leader
Roberto Micheletti and deposed President Manuel Zelaya, which could
have put an end to the crisis. But, less than a week later, the accord
started crumbling apart.
On November 5th, 2009, Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-AZ) sponsored a briefing of
civil society leaders and activists on Capitol Hill to talk about the
human rights violations that have been occurring in Honduras since the
coup and give their vision for the future. The leaders’ visits were
coordinated by the Quixote Center and Just Associates, and LAWGEF
pitched in to help. The following quotes were taken from that briefing.
Once again, Central America is battered by natural disaster. As our partner the Share Foundation describes it:
“While the National Hurricane Center in the United States has downgraded Hurricane Ida to a Tropical Storm, El Salvador has experienced the full brunt of hurricane force winds and rain. Over the weekend, the storm destroyed more than 7,000 homes and damaged many more. The most recent data… indicates that approximately 130 people have been killed by the storm, and thousands more injured. This total is sure to rise as emergency relief workers continue to work their way through damaged buildings and areas that have experienced landslides.
After a long life, touching millions of people with her powerful voice
and commitment to social justice, Argentine folksinger Mercedes Sosa
passed away on Sunday, October 4th, 2009. Sosa set an incredible
example of how music can change the world.
Her deep, rich voice and emotionally charged performances became the
rallying cry for a generation of Latin Americans oppressed by
dictatorships. In a time of terror, she chose to be “the voice for the
voiceless ones” and sing words that were forbidden. In her more than
fifty-year career, she pioneered a new movement in music, which buried
itself deep into the soul of every listener, as personal as it was
political.
It seems that a day cannot go by without an article in the MSM
declaring that “Cuba is opening up to the world.” There’s a lot of
tricky logic going in such statements, and this past Sunday’s Concert
for Peace without Borders organized by Colombian pop star Juanes can
help us to reflect on this a bit, and also to act to change United
States restrictions on travel by Americans to Cuba.
Being the music lover that I am, before anything else I have to
comment: What a spectacular display it was! Well over a million people
– half of Havana’s population according to Cuban press sources – filled
the Plaza of the Revolution to see performances by Cuban artists living
on the island and abroad whose work most epitomizes their homeland,
such as Los Van Van, Orishas, Silvio Rodríguez, Yerba Buena, Carlos
Varela and Amaury Pérez. Hats off to saxophonist and music director
extraordinaire Juan Manuel Ceruto and an amazing ensemble that
accompanied many of the Cubans, as well as their foreign guests such as
Luis Aute, Miguel Bosé, Olga Tañón and Danny Rivera, among others. It
was great to see Cuban musicianship on display again here in the United
States, if only via an online video stream provided by Univisión,
something unheard of not so long ago.
Action Center 
